Conversation on pay disparities goes notch higher
Nigeria's Rasheedat Ajibade (left) and Esther Okoronkwo take a selfie as they inspect the Rectangular Stadium in Melbourne on July 20, 2023, on the eve of the Women's World Cup football match between Canada and Nigeria.
What you need to know:
- When the inaugural edition of this competition was organised in 1991, Fifa sought to distance the tournament as much as possible from the “real” competition – the men’s version – by giving it a weird and belittling title, the “First Fifa Women’s World Championship for the M&Ms Cup.”
If the World Cup of 2019 was the springboard for the explosion of women’s football, it is highly likely that the 2023 edition, which kicked off yesterday, could be the competition that solidifies it as one of the most exciting, most memorable and most watched sports on the globe. What a time to be alive!
When the inaugural edition of this competition was organised in 1991, Fifa sought to distance the tournament as much as possible from the “real” competition – the men’s version – by giving it a weird and belittling title, the “First Fifa Women’s World Championship for the M&Ms Cup.”
And guess what, it became an undeniable success, and marked the beginning of exponential growth for the women’s game. Now, 32 years later, much of the crass chauvinism that female footballers were used to has disappeared, perhaps because the booming popularity of the female game continues to outstrip expectations. Whoever triumphs in a month’s time, this tournament has already won in terms of firsts.
A record 32 teams will be competing in this edition, including our continent mates Zambia, Nigeria, South Africa and Morocco.
Demand for tickets for yesterday’s opening game between Australia and the Republic of Ireland was so high that the match had to be moved from a 45,000-capacity venue to Sydney’s Accor Stadium, which holds more than 80,000.
Broadcasting rights to the games have been sold separately from the men’s competition, and the money on offer has tripled to $152m. Parity with the men has been promised for 2027, but that’s a problem I am willing to ignore for now.
Any pundit will tell you that the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT), winner of the past two editions, are tipped as heavy favourites to win it again this year.
You know the US women’s team because they sparked a major pay disparity row half a decade ago that saw many federations, including ours, rethink their remuneration structure for women’s football teams.
It was a hard fought battle led by brave USWNT star players like Megan Rapinoe who demanded to know why they were being paid less than their male counterparts yet they had won two consecutive world cup tournaments. The men have never won even one.
In the end, the United States Soccer Federation and many other FAs across Europe reviewed their pay structures and began paying men and women national team players equally.
That was five years ago, but now a new question has arisen, led by Brazilian legend Milene Domingues. In an interview earlier this week with Apostagolos, Milene said: “When I was told that women and men earn the same amount in the US national team, I had to say no, that’s very wrong…men should earn a lot less. The US men’s team has never won anything, whereas the US Women’s team have won the World Cup four times. They are the best in the world. Why should the men earn the same as those who are raising awareness on US soccer around the world? Soccer in the US is played more by women than men, so it certainly generates a lot more money.”
Say what you will but answer this. Why is a four-time world cup winning team being paid the same amount as a team that has never won any tournament worth talking of?
